The Northern Blue Tongued Skink Care Sheet

Figuring out Options:
They’re the biggest of the blue tongues, heavy bodied with keeled scales, darkish crossbands, typically pink to orange colouring on its sides and no ocular stripes. They’ve a triangular formed head and lengthy our bodies. Vary and Origin:
Northern areas of Australia, discovered within the grasslands / woodlands. Some are domestically bred, however many are imported for the pet commerce from New Guinea breeding farms. I might extremely advise folks to buy a captive bred BTS. There may be a lot better likelihood of getting a wholesome, handleable reptile pet. In fact after getting one a reptile vet test up is so as. Together with a fecal test for parasites.

Grownup measurement:
They will develop to about 24 inches lengthy. Life Span:
Greater than 20 years. Habitat:
Larger is all the time higher. A glass Critter cage with a sliding display locking lid, 36 inches lengthy, 18 inches extensive, and 12 inches tall is suitable.
Present a pleasant large water dish, ideally ceramic, they like to maneuver issues round spilling the water. Substrates:
Variable, so long as the substrate is just not moist. A substrate of paper towels, Aspen shavings, reptile bedding, or coconut mulch can be utilized. They do wish to burrow. Watch out the place you get your aspen bedding from. I purchased mine from an area pet store and it had a gap in it. I did not care till I had an issue with reptile mites. Finest is to purchase from an area farm provide retailer, or any retailer that does not preserve pets.

Heating/lighting:
A mercury vapor bulb is beneficial and needs to be changed yearly or as directed on the packaging. I exploit a 100 watt powersun with a ceramic base. It gives each the UVB/UVA that the reptile wants. Each the warmth and light-weight. You possibly can preserve the lights on a timer, 12 hours on 12 hours off. There are folks that consider that this reptile does not want the UVA/UVB however I’m not a type of. Basking temps:
Between 95-100 levels. The cool finish of the enclosure must be round 75 levels. You need a good temperature gradient. The lows can go to 65-70 levels at night-time. Put money into a very good temperature gun for instance PE2. A lazer temp gun might be ordered on-line from proexotics.com. Hides/cage decor:
A number of hides needs to be supplied, I’ve three hides, one is a log. You should utilize faux vegetation however preserve a watch out that your skink dont attempt to eat it. You possibly can present a moist cover by filling a plastic container with moist sphagnum moss, however mine tried to eat all of it, I needed to go get it out of her mouth! I’ve talked to house owners which are profitable with this methodology although. Simply attempt to see. Feeding:
Juveniles needs to be fed day by day. An grownup might be fed as soon as every week, if fed extra typically the skink could smear the meals throughout.
They eat a diversified weight loss program, they’re omnivores. Adults will eat frozen thawed mice, superworms, cooked hen, mealworms, snails, collard greens, turnip greens, squashes, dandelion greens, good high quality canned cat meals. I like to recommend Spot’s Stew.
You possibly can feed them fruits like Strawberries/blueberries/bananas/apples.

They are often very choosy eaters. Mine went a month with out consuming for no motive. I simply saved making an attempt totally different meals and checking weight, temps. Mud bugs with vitamin D3-calcium powder twice weekly for infants and ovulating females as soon as weekly. Nutritional vitamins and mineral are essential to those lizards.

Shedding:
It is like a shedding storm. Skinks free the pores and skin in clumps, scattering it throughout all the things. Examine to verify the pores and skin got here off the toes and ear plugs.
You possibly can tub your skink in a bath of heat water, the identical temperature as you’d bathe a child in. The water needs to be about an inch to an inch and a half in depth.